A mechanical slot machine is a type of wagering game, often offered in casinos or other locations in jurisdictions with legal gambling. Traditional slot machines are coin-operated machines with three or more reels, each reel including a plurality of symbols. The reels spin when a lever on the side of the machine is pulled. The machine accepts a wager from a player prior to spinning the reels. The machine typically pays out a prize based on a pattern of symbols depicted on the reels visible on the front of the machine when the reels stop spinning and a winning outcome is displayed.
A video slot machine replaces the reels of a mechanical slot machine with a video display, such as a CRT or LCD display. The display simulates the reels of a traditional slot machine by displaying a plurality of elements. Each element depicts a symbol and the elements may be animated to simulate spinning reels after a lever on the side of the machine is pulled. When the animation stops, a winning outcome may be displayed. For example, a video slot machine may be a kiosk in communication with a server, both located at a gambling premise such as a casino. Alternatively, video slot machine may be a personal computer in communication with the server over the Internet. Similar to a mechanical slot machine, a prize may be awarded to the player based on a pattern of symbols displayed on the video display after a winning outcome.
A video gaming machine is an automated kiosk or terminal with an input and an output configured to provide a video game to a player. The video gaming machine is in communication with a server over a network. The video gaming machine may be configured to provide wagering games to the player and allows the player to bet on the outcome of a video game. Wagering games may include video slots, video poker, video keno, video lottery, or other conventional wagering games. Video slot machines may be video gaming machines.
In slot machine games, both video and mechanical, prizes may be awarded to the player after the symbols are displayed to the player. A prize may be awarded if a quantity of symbols are displayed along a pay line, e.g., if at least a predetermined number of matching symbols are displayed along particular pay line. A pay line may include a set of elements adjacent to each other, e.g., in a horizontal line, on a diagonal, or in other predetermined patterns, according to the rules of the particular game. It is possible to have any quantity of pay lines in a slot game, but a large number of pay lines with high variability makes it difficult for the player to recognize when a winning outcome has occurred and what pay line contributed to the winning outcome. A winning pay line may be a pay line including elements that displays a predefined quantity of symbols.